Game of the night in the NHL on Thursday is clearly Pittsburgh Penguins at Tampa Bay Lightning, two teams full of offensive firepower who could meet in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Lightning are home favorites when it comes down to NHL betting odds.
How to Bet Penguins at Lightning NHL Hockey Odds & TV Info
#FantasyHockey team power rankings: 1. Washington Capitals 2. Toronto Maple Leafs 3. Tampa Bay Lightning 4. Boston Bruins 5. Pittsburgh Penguins Full list on @NHLdotcom:https://t.co/S8uposyi6a
— Rob Reese (@NHLReese) January 17, 2020
- When: Thursday, 7 PM ET
- Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa
- TV: NHL Center Ice, RSNE
- Radio: Lightning Radio | Pens Radio
- Live Stream: NHL.tv
- NHL Odds: Lightning -1½ (Total:6½)
Season Series
Tampa Bay leads 1-0. The Lightning prevailed 3-2 at home on Oct. 23. Andrei Vasilevskiy made an outstanding save as regulation ended after Victor Hedman scored a power-play goal with 56.8 seconds remaining. Last year’s Vezina Trophy winner dove head-first into the crease and made a sweeping glove stop on Kris Letang’s shot. Replays showed that part of Vasilevskiy’s glove was past the goal line but it wasn’t clear if the puck completely crossed over, too. Alex Killorn and Cedric Paquette also scored, and Vasilevskiy made 37 saves. Brandon Tanev and Jake Guentzel scored and Tristan Jarry stopped 45 shots for the Penguins. Sidney Crosby had an assist has 34 assists and 53 points in 40 games against the Lightning.
Why Bet on Pittsburgh?
The Penguins have been off since a big 4-3 win at Washington on Sunday. Pittsburgh crept within four points of Metropolitan Division-leading Washington with one extra game to play, and they’ll face off three more times over the next two months. Matt Murray played well in net for the Pens and one of his biggest stops came on a breakaway by Jakub Vrana in the second period with the Penguins leading 2-1, and Dominik Simon scored minutes later to double the lead. Murray is 16-6-4 with a 2.85 GAA and a .900 save percentage.
“He was unbelievable,” captain Sidney Crosby said. “From the start of the game, they had some really good looks there early. He was great in every area, looking through traffic to pick up pucks, some quick plays in and around the net. They’ve got some shooters, so he made some big saves for us.”
Pittsburgh made life difficult on rookie Capitals goaltender Ilya Samsonov, who allowed goals to Sam Lafferty, Patric Hornqvist, Simon and Brandon Tanev on 33 shots. In his first career start against the Penguins, Samsonov gave up one goal short side, one off his stick, one on a rebound and was victimized by a bad bounce late.
Lafferty didn’t have a point in 15 games prior to the All-Star break. Hornqvist gave the Penguins a 2-1 lead at the 12:40 mark of the first period when he tipped a shot from John Marino. He snapped a six-game goalless slump with his 12th marker of the season. Tanev gave the Penguins a 4-2 lead at the 17:27 mark of the third period and it held up as the game winner after Lars Eller scored for the Capitals shortly afterward.
Pittsburgh Penguins 2020 NHL Betting Trends and Stats
Betting Trends
- The total has gone OVER in 7 of Pittsburgh’s last 10 games.
- Pittsburgh are 8-2 SU in their last 10 games.
- Pittsburgh are 2-5 SU in their last 7 games against Tampa Bay.
- Pittsburgh are 7-2 SU in their last 9 games on the road.
- The total has gone OVER in 10 of Pittsburgh’s last 11 games when playing on the road against Tampa Bay.
- Pittsburgh are 4-1 SU in their last 5 games this season.
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Pittsburgh’s last 5 games against an opponent in the Atlantic division.
Team Stats
Offense
- Goals: 3.38
- Shots: 32.17
- ThreePP/PK Percentage: 19.87
Defense
- Goals: 2.73
- Shots: 29.87
- ThreePP/PK Percentage: 17.86
Why Bet on Tampa Bay?
The Lightning won a fourth in a row Tuesday, 4-2 over visiting Vegas. The Knights failed to take advantage of three power-play chance in the second period as the league’s fourth ranked penalty kill unit limited the Golden Knights to one shot on goal and four total attempts during the 5:07 of total time with the man advantage.
Steven Stamkos tipped in his 24th goal of the season in the third period. Stamkos was in front of Marc-Andre Fleury when Brayden Point wheeled around from the high slot and sent a shot on net that Stamkos deflected just inside the right post at 10:36, extending his scoring streak to eight games. He has seven goals and six assists during his eight-game point streak. Stamkos has 57 points in 50 contests this campaign.
Point and Anthony Cirelli also scored, and Nikita Kucherov had two assists as Tampa Bay won its seventh consecutive home game, the second-longest active streak in the league. Kucherov has posted seven goals and 14 points with a plus-10 rating during his current eight-game point streak.
Andrei Vasilevskiy tied the franchise record for goalie point streaks on Tuesday night. Vasilevskiy has a 14-0-2 record in his last 16 outings, which matches Nikolai Khabibulin’s run from 2002-03 when he posted a mark of 12-0-4.
Defenseman Jan Rutta could be out for a while after leaving Tuesday’s game due to a lower-body injury. Coach Jon Cooper said afterward that Rutta is closer to week-to-week.
Tampa Bay Lightning 2020 NHL Betting Trends and Stats
Betting Trends
- Tampa Bay are 16-3 SU in their last 19 games.
- The total has gone OVER in 12 of Tampa Bay’s last 15 games against Pittsburgh.
- Tampa Bay are 7-0 SU in their last 7 games at home.
- The total has gone OVER in 10 of Tampa Bay’s last 11 games when playing at home against Pittsburgh.
- Tampa Bay are 5-1 SU in their last 6 games this season.
- The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Tampa Bay’s last 5 games against an opponent in the East conference.
Team Stats
Offense
- Goals: 3.62
- Shots: 31.43
- ThreePP/PK Percentage: 25.00
Defense
- Goals: 2.77
- Shots: 31.00
- ThreePP/PK Percentage: 15.98
Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction for Penguins vs Lightning
Tampa Bay 3 – Pittsburgh 2
